Out of the motel and ready to go at 7 a.m. It was raw cold, overcast, and with a strong northeast wind. Hey, I'm going NE. What's with this weather? I don't mind the cold, but the wind? Before I left OK we had days on end of SW wind. I want a little now, please.
Remember that I said I was going to stop at Hardee's for breakfast? Did. Ordered an egg & sausage muffin and an o.j. Drank the o.j but wasted my money on the biscuit. It was too salty and greasy to eat. Oh well, live and learn. While waiting for my order, I talked to a woman in scrubs who ran a free clinic for those who couldn't pay for medical services. She told me that there was a truck stop 9 miles along on US-24/MO 65E, so I thought I might get breakfast there. But when I got there, the truck stop was on the other side of the road and back a bit, so I passed it by.
My entire route today was on US-24. When I started, I had a wide, clean shoulder, a crosswind, and gentle rolling hills . . . until I headed directly east into Quincy. The headwind was brutal. Dragged myself along at 7 mph until I lost my shoulder and was faced with "The Bridge" across the Mississippi River into Quincy, IL. I should have expected this old, one-way, hump-backed, 2-lane, no shoulder bridge from my frequent rides up and down the Mississippi. Well, nothing to do but take the lane and crawl up the bridge, holding up traffic behind me. Midway up I realized that a police car was behind me, its lights flashing. It followed me up, over and to the other side, where the officer politely told me that they didn't like single cyclists on the bridge, and that cyclist groups usually called and had a lead and tail vehicle following them. I hardly heard what he said, I was so relieved to be over the bridge. The photo at left is an old one from the Internet when the river was at flood, but gives a good idea of the bridge.
On the east side of the bridge I was faced with another short hill into the city proper. Once this was conquered, I was TOAST, so looked for a place to rest and gather my wits, which I was beginning to think had deserted me for planning this ride. I stopped briefly in a CS on the east side of town before continuing on 24E. Actually it went north so I had the strong east crosswind again. The highway was a 4-lane divided highway for a bit and then narrowed to a two-lane with a small shoulder, but grass rather than gravel to the right. This section of the road was very lovely between vast plowed fields, some planted with corn and others waiting to be planted with beans.
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| The old . . . |
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| The new . . . or newer. Which do you think is more picturesque? The farmer, of course, could care less about picturesque. |
When I turned directly east toward Mount Sterling, I hit a wind wall. I could crank out only 6 to 8 mph again, and I slogged along thinking that the remainder of the ride was going to take me all afternoon. It was like climbing a mountain for miles and miles. Just before Fowler, IL, a pickup pulled up ahead of me. Guy jumped out and told me that there was no sense in struggling against the wind when he could "carry me"--his words--to Mount Sterling. I didn't argue, and B.O.B. practically vaulted into the back of the pickup. RAK # leventy hundred.
The driver's name was David and he was returning to Bluff Springs south of Beardstown having seen his surgeon in Quincy. He was a scrap metal worker and some building he was dismantling had thrown him on his neck. He'd had rotator cuff surgery back in March and was just now being told that he could resume his normal workday . . . but needed more PT until September. He dropped me at a gas station on the west side of Mount Sterling. Since I had arrived early, I cycled back to The Station Restaurant west of town and had a leisurely lunch--a delicious salad bar that included soup and homemade chocolate chip cookies for desert.
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| A colorful bit of downtown Mount Sterling |
Then I cycled east of town to an IGA and bought some supplies I needed. I called Dan Long of the Democrat-Message who wanted to take a photo of me to go with the press release Valerie had sent. He took his photos and two doors down was the public library where I'd decided to park myself until Richard Young, my Warm Showers host for the night, was off work. The library was not open until later, so I pedaled to Renee's Cafe where I spent an hour or so warming up with coffee and a piece of blackberry pie.
Here Richard found me about 3:30 p.m. Richard is an avid cyclist as the photo below shows, a Presbyterian minister, and the warden at the Western Illinois Correctional Center, south of Mount Sterling. His wife, Kathy Jo (from Louisiana), is a pharmacy technician for a drugstore and a hospital in Rushville, IL. Richard told me that the correctional center houses 2100 offenders and has a work camp in Clayton. Kathy rides a Tour Easy recumbent and Richard is proudest of his Surly and his Bruce Gordon custom touring bicycle. They also have a tandem.
The Youngs have two dogs, a year old Boston bull named Buster and a 15-year old "mutt" named Hank. Buster looks like Winston Churchill when he puts his chew bone in the side of his mouth.
This evening I was treated to dinner in Perry, IL, at Boondock's restaurant, a frequent stop for Richard and his riding pals. One of his riding pals, Mac Cooper, and his wife Barbara were with us tonight and treated me to dinner. Mac has ridden the Natchez Trace and with a friend did a tour up into Michigan's upper peninsula and then took The Badger, a coal fired ferry, back across Lake Michigan to Luddington, WI. We did this (in reverse) on America by Bicycle, too, when I staffed their north cross-country ride. Mac tells me that this ferry may be retired because it runs on coal.
Anyway, back to Boondock's. I had buffalo--no, not the four-footed kind but the finned kind--and Butterfinger pie for dessert. I have the bicyclist's appetite and the old person's penchant for hanging onto pounds. Have not lost even an ounce so far. It was a fun evening, though, with some great people. Thank you Richard & Kathy Jo Young for hosting me, and thank you Mac & Barbara Cooper for buying me dinner! Thank you also Barb Thiele, our waitperson at Boondock's, for immediately donating the five tip bills in her pocket after hearing of my fundraising. Can't say enough about how hospitable everyone has been.
Tomorrow I will be staying with Nan Standburg, another Warm Showers host. She has told me that she will come all the way to Mount Sterling and pick me up if it is raining and windy, which is the forecast. I will call her at nine tomorrow morning to let her know what's up. I would like to try to ride to meet her if at all possible. While I am certainly not cycling EFM (Every Fabulous Mile), I can't let this ride turn motorized. It is supposed to get down into the forties tonight and rain is forecast for morning. We shall see. . . Tune in again tomorrow.
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